Walt Disney World Resort is celebrating the accomplishments of Disney VoluntEARS, which gave a record 251,000 hours toward improving the lives of Central Floridians in 2009, by recognizing top standouts with awards and charitable donations.

Take a break from the heat, pop open a butterbeer and join ABC Family for an extra-long weekend of magic and Quidditch matches with everyone’s favorite boy wizard and friends. The weekend starts with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” on Thursday, July 8th and will include airings of each of the first five films through Sunday, July 11th. Fans will also be treated to never-before-seen interviews and footage of Harry’s epic final showdown with Voldemort from the much anticipated two-part motion picture, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” Part 1 is due in theaters November 19, 2010, Part 2 on July 15, 2011.

In honor of the fourth and final series of Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana in which Hannah (aka Miley Stewart as played by Miley Cyrus) hangs up her wig for good, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will be releasing Hannah Montana Forever: Who is Hannah Montana? on DVD November 2, 2010.

In addition to the fourth and final season’s hour-long premiere episode, this collection offers seven additional episodes from the series, showing Hannah’s best wig raising moments as she reveals her secret dual identity to Lilly and Olliver, to Jake and more, including the series pilot.

Cast members from Disney’s THE LION KING (at Mandalay Bay) will be performing in Los Angeles at The Grove outdoor shopping and entertainment district during a free event on Friday, July 9 at 5 pm and 7 pm PT.

Performers will include Kissy Simmons, who joined the Las Vegas company after appearing as “Nala” on Broadway; Buyi Zama, a native of South Africa, who has performed as “Rafiki” in seven productions of THE LION KING around the world; and Jelani Remy as “Simba,” previously seen in the theatrical touring production of High School Musical. Join the cast as they celebrate “THE LION KING Day” at The Grove, performing iconic songs from the Broadway phenomenon such as “Circle of Life,” “Shadowland,” “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and “Endless Night” alongside the FAME Church Choir, Los Angeles.

First, the Black Cauldron 25th Anniversary set consisting of a 9″ Horned King and 3″ Gurgi by Disney Design Group artist Monty Maldovan will be released on July 2 at both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts at their respective D Street shops in Downtown Disney districts.

Then on July 9, D Street at Disneyland will exclusively begin offering the Vinylmation ’55 collection, a combo set of two 3″ mousketeer figures and a set of 9″ Bandleader Mickey and a 3″ figure, both sets of which are limited to an edition of just 555 pieces and detailed on the Disney Parks blog here.

We realize virtually every outlet (including us) has reported on the onslaught of new tech toys inspired by TRON and TRON Legacy coming your way this holiday season, but despite all of the individual coverage, there has been very little revelation about the finer details of the gear behind the blue LEDs.

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Chris Heatherly, Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Disney Consumer Products, and got to experience many of the new toys first-hand and learned some additional juicy bits of information about many of them that we have yet to read anywhere else, so here we go:

On the eve of a special event at the Walt Disney Studios in which Disney President and CEO Robert Iger will recognize Disney Legend Dave Smith for his forty years of service to The Walt Disney Company, particularly presiding over the Walt Disney Studio Archives which has been preserving Disney memories for decades, the LA Times reports that Smith will be formally announcing his retirement in October at the age of 70.

According to the article which explores Smith’s illustrious career with the company as well as takes a photographic tour inside the Archives, current manager Becky Cline is poised to fill the void left behind by Smith.

We have confirmation that the Have A Laugh Series and Urban Series #4 will be released at Disneyland’s D Street located in Downtown Disney on July 2.

No dates for Walt Disney World or DisneyStore.com have been released as of yet, nor has there been a date mentioned for the Toy Story series which made its Disney Store debut at the Montebello ‘Imagination Park’ store earlier this week.

Walt Disney Studios and the Disney Channel have just released this clip of Sorcerer’s Apprentice stars Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel introducing the scene in the new film inspired by the title segment from Disney’s Fantasia in which the apprentice breaks a cardinal rule and attempts to use his new-found craft as a shortcut only to find himself knee-deep in trouble (and water).

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice from Walt Disney Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer opens nationwide on July 14. For all of our coverage of the film, check this bookmark.

The stars of Disney XD’s hit comedy series “Zeke and Luther” — Hutch Dano (Zeke), Adam Hicks (Luther) and Daniel Curtis Lee (Kojo) — will greet fans at multiple AT&T retails stores across the U.S. beginning SATURDAY, JUNE 26. Each local event, hosted in conjunction with Disney XD, AT&T U-verse® TV and Radio Disney, the No.1 radio outlet for kids, tweens and families, will feature one or two of the young actors plus entertainment by the Radio Disney Road Crew. Fans can submit an entry card in a drawing box at the retail store for the chance to win an Xbox 360 to be given away every 20 minutes during the event at each store. Winners will be selected in random drawings.*